


lion's maw, archer's heart

by bunshima



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Human/Monster Romance, Injury, M/M, Mild Gore, Young Love, pre-timeskip for now but will add post-timeskip too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-20 10:17:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20673755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunshima/pseuds/bunshima
Summary: "I've told you, there is a thing in the woods, and it cries at night."Truth be told, Claude has heard it too.





	lion's maw, archer's heart

**Author's Note:**

> I am licherally posting this in a rush bc i just want it gone
> 
> disclaimer: no beta, i say make the content u want to see so heres this, uhhhhh diabeetus

"I've told you, there is  _ a  _ ** _thing_ ** in the woods, and it cries at night." 

The hushed whisper of a maid tears Claude's attention from his book and he finds himself idly playing with one of its pages, the thin material pinched between his thumb and index finger, as he listens in silence. 

"But Therese–  _ it's just an owl." _ A different one chimes in, tone soft in an attempt to soothe. "Patriarch Riegan has already gone after it. It is only a matter of time until he hunts it down.  **All** of his arrows may strike their target, after all."

Truth be told, Claude has heard it too. 

______

  
  


He doesn't know whether it was a moment of youthful curiosity or the lack of sleep that made him get up during the twilight hours, determined to find out what has been crying out so pitifully for the past two days. 

_ It's  _ ** _not_ ** _ an owl. He's sure of it.  _

His  _ educated _ guess would be a wounded wyvern; they make downright blood-curdling sounds when they're hurt. 

As quiet as humanly possible, Claude gets dressed, sure to pick something rather subtle to avoid drawing attention to himself out in the field.  _ The guards have keen eyes.  _ There's a mild cringe on his side as he straps his quiver of arrows to his back, it's metal clasp obnoxiously loud when he needs it the least.  _ Yeah, sounds like his luck. _

His trusty bow is retrieved from beneath his bed, along with a dagger. Nader has taught him well in self defense already, especially now that he will be attending the officer's academy in a few moons. He's everything  _ but _ ill-prepared. Claude has no intention of killing whatever is out there but– if it really is a wounded wyvern,  _ especially if it's a fledgling, _ it might be what he will have to do. A wyvern with a broken wing is as well off as a horse with a broken leg.  _ The thought alone pains him.  _

It's way too easy for him to slip past the guards patrolling the Riegan estate.  _ His own room isn't guarded, _ so the task of getting out to the gardens isn't a tough one. However, the territory doesn't offer much cover– the area is surrounded by plains with quite tall grass and the aforementioned woods lie a fair stretch ahead. 

Swift feet carry him on his way through the ornate beds of flowers, forming the Crest of Riegan in bright orange and yellow tones. Quite fancy to everyone outside, but the catch is that he has to see it every goddamn day. He almost crawls along the shadow of a high hedge, eyes fixated on the high fence ahead–  _ beyond lies freedom.  _

Claude focuses on a certain segment of the fence which he has used to get out quite a few times.  _ Three points of contact and he's out.  _ He gets a bit further and comes to a halt, decides to remain in his spot for a moment as to make sure that no guard is near. 

It's dead silent, save for a warm breeze. 

Ever quiet, Claude dares to get onto his feet, observing his surroundings carefully once more. Still nothing.  _ Not for long, _ he suspects. It's best he uses this chance now. There's enough distance for a proper run up to the fence, so he doesn't hesitate further. In a full sprint he launches himself at the obstacle and jumps to reach the horizontal bars linking the fence near the top. With ease he scales the thick iron bars, quickly launches himself into the grassy field below– and he sticks the landing with a nice roll at the end.  _ A straight ten. _

He's practiced getting out of the estate since he was only a lil' bub, so he's a natural at it by now. With quick steps under his ducked frame he makes it through the tall grass, the entire area flooded in cold moonlight. It seems he's passed a good moment– no reaction from the guards at all.  _ Maybe they're getting drunk off their asses again.  _

The woods are near. A weird sense of anticipation and anxiety alike settles at the pit of Claude's stomach. Of course, the stories the maids told one another don't make it any better– it's been two days and there were entire odysseys about man-eating monsters brought into existence already.  _ Almost like they have nothing else to do all day.  _

An ear-piercing howl resounds throughout the area, the gentle wind carrying it far away. 

Claude crouches in reflex with eyes cast forward in a concentrated stare, entire body taut as a bowstring as if he were a bloodhound faced with game. 

_ It is a truly harrowing sound. _ High-pitched and coarse, vocal chords completely raw after the animal has been screaming its lungs out each night. It stops for a moment, only for another keen to follow. In retrospect, it could also be just a fox. They sound godawful during mating season. 

So, the current options are a half-dead wyvern and a horny fox.  _ He doesn't know what's worse. _ At least he wouldn't have to kill the fox… so for now he just hopes it's that. 

Great care is placed in his every move as he presses on, entering the forest. A few faint rays of moonlight that managed to break through the canopy illuminate his way. The little bit of survival instinct that he's got left is pondering on what the fuck he thinks he's doing, but truth be told,  _ Claude just wants to sleep. _ It's been a mere two days, but he is utterly exhausted. Training is barely possible like this; not even Nader can get some shuteye even though he sleeps like a goddamn log. 

Another cry, this time  _ dangerously _ near. Grass rustles on a clearing up ahead. It sounds even worse up close and Claude can't help but notice that it's…  _ weirdly human. _ Uncanny, almost. 

A fallen tree trunk is deemed good cover from whatever is there, his body hunched behind it, but he can't help himself but peek over it just a little. 

It's hard to fathom what he sees. 

It has the body of an animal that vaguely resembles a lion, sturdy and proud. Tattered wings sprout from its shoulder blades, several primary and secondary feathers scattered around the clearing. That's already disconcerting on its own, but there's something that throws him off even more: in place of the creature's head seems to be the entire upper half of a human, arms and everything. It's lying on its side, facing away from him, so he can't get a clear look on its supposedly human face just yet,  _ but that's alright with him.  _

He's not exactly afraid, just plain unsure of what he should start looking at first, not to mention what he's even looking at to begin with.  _ There's a lot going on. _

The creature stirs in its spot and this time it only manages to yelp, its voice considerably weakened by now. It is then when Claude fully realizes how human this… this  _ thing _ sounded the entire time. He has yet to decide if it borders on a miracle or a disaster that no one found out what's actually causing all this horrid keening. If his uncle were to find it–  _ well, he'd probably think that it'd look nice on his trophy wall. _ The distinct rattling of chains distracts him from pondering on the general situation any further. One of the creature's hind legs kicks in a desperate attempt to shake the metal embedded deeply into its flesh– 

_ The poor thing ran into a bear trap.  _

It repeats the motion once more, but the limb drops back onto the ground afterwards. A downright heart-breaking sob leaves it, followed by a drawn out groan of pure agony. So, there's about a fifty-fifty chance that he's going to get a taste of those talons, if not completely torn apart, even. The odds don't look too good for him. Then again, judging by its vaguely humanoid traits, it  _ might _ be sapient which means it could possibly understand him as he begs for mercy.  _ Things don't look too bright for either of them, do they? _

And yet, Claude can't find himself able to leave. The prospect that this creature is probably  _ acutely aware _ of the fact that it is slowly succumbing to its likely infected injuries and slowly starving keeps him glued in place. It wouldn't be right to let this happen. He chews on his bottom lip for a moment in contemplation, but then makes a decision.

With every reasonable brain cell in that head of his screaming over how bad of an idea this is, Claude slowly gets out of his cover, ever cautiously inching closer to the creature's position. The grass rustles softly around his feet as he moves and a reaction is quick to follow.

** _"Wh-who goes there?!",_ ** the creature bellows with seemingly new-found vigor, its voice unexpectedly masculine. 

Claude was more thinking of getting his ear drums caressed by a wood nymph's gentle singsong when meeting what might be just a friendly spirit of the forest, but instead he gets an earful of almost demonic growling.  _ Great. _ His hand is already nearing the hidden dagger on his person, _ just in case. _ But it shows no sign of movement, next to the irregular heaving of its chest. All bark, no bite (hopefully). It seems unable to even lift its head, but he can't tell if that should instill him with confidence or if should make him feel plain awful for the fate of this creature.

He takes another step towards it and earns himself a loud huff, a weak flap of the being's wings. Claude is solely going by the fact that it didn't claw his eyes out;  _ he ain't dead yet, _ so it can't be aggressive, right? A large circle is made around the body before him towards its field of view, so that the being may see him approach. He isn't quite prepared for the grisly picture that presents itself to him.

_ Yes, _ the being does have a human face at first glance, but that's not the awful part. Behind its mussed locks of blonde hair that fall over the side of its face, a likely fresh wound spans across its visage, right across the eye. One can't even call it an eye anymore– there's no lids left, the damaged eyeball stiff in its socket.  _ The trap on its leg is the last thing to worry about here, as it seems. _

Cue further steps. Claude can clearly see the crusted burns on the left side of its face, almost like someone held a torch to it until everything just burned off. The longer he looks, the more he's convinced that he can see its brow bone bare with no skin or flesh left on it. Claude visibly recoils at his own observation, bitter bile suddenly seeping into his mouth.  _ He had thought his first exposure to gore would be on the battlefield. _

With him being so close, the creature eventually makes an effort to catch a glimpse of him in return. A deep breath heaves in its lungs as it slowly lifts and turns its head so that it may look at Claude with its healthy eye,  _ baby blue in color; _ such a strong contrast, even in the pale moonlight. Judging by the youthful charm it has to its weird little human face, he'd say the being around his age… if human years even apply to whatever this is.

"... Will you kill me?", it asks in a more tender voice after a lengthy pause. The trapped hind leg struggles another time, the sound of rattling chain links grating on his ears. 

All color drains from Claude's visage, but he's quick to reply.  _ "N-no." _

And in response he receives a peculiar sound, somewhere between a wistful sigh and a soft groan, and the creature lets its head sink into the grass once more. A gentle mutter can be heard from it, but Claude wastes no time with paying attention to this thing's objections to his help. Whereas he was frozen in place mere seconds ago, he now moves to its hind legs, the fact that he's questioning his motives and sanity written all over his face.

"I'll help you.", he states as he settles on the clearing, pulling the trapped limb into his lap–  _ it's massive. _ Definitely muscular enough to kill prey with a single kick. Yeah, he doesn't want to be at the receiving end of those. 

The creature allows him to do as he pleases, not even looking at what he's doing. It's quite evident that it already gave up on freeing itself. The longer he's at the scene, the more aware he grows of all its little details. Torn out grass scattered, deep claw marks in the soil, dried blood.  _ Who's to say that it hasn't been longer than two days?  _ The thought makes his skin crawl.

Ever careful, he begins to inspect the wound and quickly comes to the conclusion that there's not really much he can do besides getting the limb out of its unfortunate situation the old-fashioned way: prying the bear trap open and praying to all gods available that he doesn't lose his fingers in the process.

"I'm–", Claude begins, but trails off right away, visibly shaken up by now. "I'm going to– to open the trap."

Well, 'try' is a better word, but he's unable to say more than the bare minimum right now.

From here on out, he doesn't think ahead any longer and _ just acts. _ The dagger is retrieved from his pocket, the blade lodged between the trap's thick iron. Then, he shifts the whole thing back off his lap. His hands are shaking, and even slip off the dagger's hilt at one point as he tries to get an opening big enough for his fingers to fit. Much to his luck, the trap seems to be rather old, rust having started to dye the material's usual grey a muddy brown. It creaks awfully as he manages to open it another few millimeters, barely giving him enough space. It doesn't seem to be able to snap completely close, thanks to the rust. 

"Alright, I-I– I'm gonna need you to pull your leg out.  _ Wh-when I tell you to.", _ he stammers, shoulders shaking as he already starts to force open the downright beastly maw of iron, but then he stops in his tracks, "H-hey, are you still with me?"

_ Nothing. _ The creature lies completely still in its spot.

Panic ensues. Sweat beads on his temples. The hysteria is clearly audible in Claude's shaking voice when he speaks again,  _ "Hey, st-stay with me." _

**"... I am.",** comes the belated reply, a pained moan eventually heaving through the being's lungs. 

The relief that washes over him only gives little comfort as he comes to the conclusion that there's no way that he'll be able to pry the trap open from the sides. The iron teeth are horribly sharp even in spite of the rust, but he can't stop now. Seems like he'll have to bite the bullet. 

Claude hesitates, freezes in his spot once more. He has a lot of respect for these traps; he knows, if he were to get his hands in there, it won't be pretty. A coarse sigh makes its way out of him– it's no use. 

With haste he manages to press his fingers past the upper jaw of the trap, his other hand reaching beneath the beasts limb to grasp the edge of the lower jaw firmly. He can already feel the edges cut into his skin. Yet another moment of hesitation, but that shall be the last time for now. A deep breath causes his chest to heave.  _ Well, here goes nothing. _

Phalanxes clamp down hard on rusted metal and he begins to pull the iron jaws apart with all his might, edges digging deep into his flesh. His teeth grit and brows furrow as the first drops of blood drop down his fingers. Most of the trap may be rusted, but whoever put these out made sure to sharpen the teeth beforehand. It burns terribly, but the mechanism is already giving way in his grasp, even with only a little pressure exerted. At least he won't have to endure much of this. 

"Get ready.", Claude huffs forth between gritted teeth as he opens the trap further and further, millimeter per millimeter. 

The creature seems to have regained some of its awareness, its freakishly human upper half somewhat curled towards him as it carefully watches his motions, waiting for the moment he gives the okay to move. Soon he reaches the point where the mechanism would snap back down, his hands trembling while it gets exceedingly harder to push it back, not to mention even hold it in place. He's already saying goodbye to his fingers. 

The very second he gets the trap open to the point where its teeth are no longer embedded in the creature's flesh, it quickly pulls its paw back;  _ he didn't even have to say the word. _

At the same time, Claude's hands fly close to his chest in a similar fashion, causing the bear trap to snap shut completely. He doesn't know what drives him to act out– perhaps frustration, or even just the stinging pain in his hands– but Claude suddenly can't keep himself from flinging the accursed thing away from them with a shout, the chain attached to it rattling ear-piercingly loud.  _ Ah, the chain. _ Only now he notices that the last of its broken links had gotten stuck under the surfacing roots of a big tree, effectively chaining the being to it like a hound. 

Thank the goddess he choose to wear black; blood from his fingers has started seeping into the fabric of his clothing, but at least it's not leaving visible stains. His entire frame is still trembling, lungs unable to draw a proper breath in between spasms. The bitter cold night air out here isn't doing him a favor. 

But then, there's  _ warmth. _

The creature seems to have regained its will to live after being freed and has now crawled to his side, its big front paws plopping into his lap with  _ its clawed human-paw-hands _ resting atop them. It bumps its head into his shoulder and utters a low grumble–  _ oh, it can purr.  _

And it has the same influence as a regular cat's purr. Claude is still stiff in his spot for now, but at least his breathing gets back into order ever slowly, his tensed muscles relaxing one by one. The purring drones on his ear drums, but he doesn't mind at all– heh, he can feel its paws pretty much vibrate on his thighs.  _ That's one big kitty. _

_ "I– am– forever– in– your– debt–", _ it speaks once more, the loud purring distorting its voice that would've been hard to understand on its own already. It isn't all that deep, but there's an ever slight growl always weighing into its tone, quite literally as if a beast had learnt to speak.

It is  **very** clear that  _ this thing _ isn't anywhere near human, and simply  _ humanoid.  _ Maybe it's mimicry to lure in prey or some bullshit like that.  _ Great.  _ Sure, he's into stories with the occasional side of mythical creatures but this is a little too… up close.  _ And real.  _ ** _Very real._ ** He doesn't want to admit it, but after the initial shock of discovery has subsided, he is more than just a little intimidated.

"I'll– I'll head back in a moment and get some stuff to take care of your wounds, yeah?", Claude eventually states and receives no protest in response from the purring abomination at his side.

At this point, he has no idea what he's getting himself into.

______

  
  


** _His_ ** name is Dimitri, Claude learns. 

_ Yeah, he was surprised by the human name, too. _

Finding himself unable to turn a blind eye to the situation at hand, he had decided to take care of  _ 'the thing from the forest', _ as the maids had called him. Keeping the whole thing a secret wasn't too hard either; the entirety of House Riegan treats him with negligence at best, and his uncle doesn't give a shit, especially after being more or less forced to recognize him as heir to the House–  _ him, an  _ ** _Alymran. _ ** Perhaps it was thanks to the complicated circumstances at…  _ 'home' _ that Dimitri and Claude became close friends rather quickly. Over the course of the past moon he has made it a habit to visit him each day after training with Nader, getting his instructor to run him through the wringer a bit so that he may leave earlier every time. 

_ And today is no exception. _

The tree's bark is hard on his back as he rests against it, eyes closed. It's nice weather out, the sun shining and the warm breeze tickling against his skin.  ** _Perfect_ ** _ conditions to lounge around in the shade. _ A loud groan at his side causes him to crack one of his eyes open, giving a little snort.

He's faced with the sight of**_ three_** sharp rows of razor-sharp teeth– _bared in a wide yawn. _**Yep.** _Dimitri has a lot of teeth._ It freaked him out the first few days, but now it's nothing. The being is still holding the yawn, his body slowly rising for the same brand of full-body stretch Claude saw on their stable cats. The stretch lasts for another while, until any and all tension leaves Dimitri's body and he drops his torso across Claude's lap. 

"By the goddess,  _ you're so fucking heavy.", _ he groans in response to the extra weight, unable to keep himself from giving a soft, yet exasperated laugh. In a few years Dimitri might be able to crush him if he's being  _ insolent, _ just by sitting on him.

"Yesterday you didn't complain either.", his beastly friend responds with a purr in his voice.

"Well, can't argue with that." 

Cue a sigh, as Claude begins to scratch him behind one of his ears, causing it to flick at the contact. It's one of those weirdly adorable things about him– Dimitri doesn't have human ears,  _ but the ones of a lion instead. _ They're round and  _ so irresistibly soft. _ He had some reservations about petting someone so human-looking in the beginning to say the least, but in the end his friend just has the same effect on him as a cat in certain ways;  _ he purrs,  _ ** _for goddess' sake,_ ** _ so Claude must pet him  _ ** _immediately_ ** _ for extra serotonin,  _ because even the most promising of tacticians are just slaves to their brains.

They spend the next moments without any words exchanged.

With both eyes closed once again, he can feel himself drift into comfortable slumber– eh, he might as well. It's just another lazy afternoon in the end and he doesn't know when he's going to be able to just lounge around like this at the academy–  _ ah. _

**The Officer's Academy.**

A sharp pang, right to the middle of Claude's chest as the realization sets in.  _ He'll be gone in a little more than two moons. _

He hasn't said a word.

______

  
  


"Make it shorter!", Dimitri tells him, his tail whipping around behind himself as his lips curl into an ever subtle pout.

"Look, Dima, I'm not that good with hair.", Claude responds, his fingers trembling only ever slightly around the scissors between them. 

His beastly friend had gotten to the point of being unable to see properly because of his long hair, especially with his disability– combine both and you have an oversized, vaguely lion-shaped creature sprinting head first into a tree and uprooting it in the process. So, long story short, Dimitri asked Claude to play hairdresser with him. Downside being that he forgot to bring the bowl.

He already mercilessly lopped everything off in the back for good measure, leaving him to work on the bangs last.  _ Oh, the bangs.  _ Dimitri has weirdly stringy hair despite the fact that he regularly goes for a dip in the local river and rinses with the soap Claude has brought him– so it can't be grease. It's just super weird–  _ plain and simple– _ and it pretty much does what it wants.

"I don't care how I'll look.", Dimitri speaks another time, "I just want to see properly."

_ "Ohhh, be careful what you wish for, buddy."  _

Claude can't stop himself from cringing when he makes the first cut at the edges, allowing the first few bits of hair to fall into the grass where it joins the thick wads he had cut off earlier. Judging by the density and thickness, his hair is more like thick pelt–  _ you could stuff a pillow with the amount he cut off. _

"Cut from… cut from the bridge of my nose. I don't want it longer than that."

"Now I can't braid it anymore, though."

Cue a growly scoff in defeat, blonde locks jumping with a huffed breath.  _ Heh.  _ He knows well how much Dimitri loved little braids in his hair, but perhaps he should've thought of that before making this decision.

In the end Claude does what is asked of him without further ado, cutting off Dimitri's hair with great care… and slowly finding himself stopping in his tracks. He hadn't managed to catch proper glance at the other's face until this very moment and– well.  _ Now he's feeling a few things he shouldn't. _ His Adam's apple bobs as he attempts to swallow the lump that suddenly manifested in his throat.

The burns on Dimitri's face have healed well, even in spite of the fact that he didn't allow him to treat them the same way as he did his leg. His beastly friend feels quite negatively about the scars, he knows it; Claude doesn't want to stare, but that's exactly what he ends up doing– not because of the marks lining his skin, though. 

_ Dimitri isn't human, _ and it's quite literally written all over his face. 

His nose is quite a bit flatter compared to Claude's and really resembles the one of a cat more than anything else, his upper lip has a tiny cleft in the middle with his mouth forming an extremely subtle  _ sideways-three. _ It looks like a cute little perma-grin at certain angles. He isn't what you would consider conventionally attractive,  _ definitely not by human standards, _ but… Claude can't help himself. He's so cute, he can't quite understand why he feels the way he does.

_ Who could've guessed that all this shaggy hair was hiding a face this cute all along?  _

Next to his non-human Attributes, Dimitri has such pretty long lashes, pale blonde in color, which matches the bright blue of his healthy eye in its stark contrast. There's freckles scattered across the bridge of nose, downright  _ begging _ to be ki–  **wait.**

"What's wrong?", Dimitri asks eventually, effectively ripping him from his lovestruck thoughts.  _ Hoh boy. _

**"Nothin'.",** Claude replies quickly, not allowing anything going on inside to break through his steadfast demeanor. "I was just admiring my work, y'know? I think I could do this professionally.", he adds, his free hand starting to scratch his beastly friend under his chin, immediately earning himself a loud purr.  _ "Doesn't look half bad." _

Dimitri likely noticed that there's something off, but as observant as he may be, he's equally easy to distract with scritches. 

It's best he doesn't find out about his budding crush anyway.

______

  
  


It is clear that they're not of the same birth based on looks alone, but it also becomes apparent by the way Dimitri behaves, Claude notes. Whatever species his peculiar friend may be, they have a lot less restraint when it comes to physicality. The being would simply claim Claude's lap as he pleased, full weight on him and everything, give him an extreme cowlick by attempting to groom him, and nuzzle him at whatever edge his head may reach best. 

Claude had thought that simply going on as usual would've helped with curbing anything that started budding deep down, but–  _ you can guess how well that went.  _

It is an afternoon like any other, spent in lazy bliss.

He had gotten himself a shiny new book on the art of potion brewery after saving his rather sparse allowance for the past five moons, and decided to bring it along for the few hours before sunset that he gets to spend with Dimitri–  ** _augh. _ **

Behind his book, he actually grimaces at the sensation of filthy little butterflies fluttering about inside his stomach.  _ For fuck's sake.  _ He does his best not to make any noise at his own misery. 

Broad paws thump on the ground softly as Dimitri trots over the clearing, preoccupied with chasing bugs through the grass. How he can be so sure of what he's doing without seeing it? Dimitri  **always** does it. He's easily entertained–  _ how cute.  _ ** _Gah. _ ** The whole thing makes him wanna rip out his hair. His friend utters some sounds that he can only suspect to be for expressing contentment; they sound like moans and huffs most of the time, undoubtedly coming from the depths of Dimitri's throat.  _ The moans in particular leave him feeling a bit weird sometimes if he's quite honest with himself.  _

Cue a low groan, not far from him. Speak of the devil, huh? 

Claude lifts his book, only to see Dimitri trot towards him with something just slightly shy in his gait. With the imminent situation at hand, his bookmark is slipped between the pages where he stopped reading before he puts his book aside in preparation. He knows exactly what Dimitri is about to do. 

The beast settles right at his side with another little moan, his head coming to rest on Claude's midriff as his big kitty half curls up, the tip of his tail slowly drumming against the ground. He doesn't even need to start petting to get him to purr like a kitten; Dimitri just starts doing it the very moment he lays down. 

_ Okay, that's already cute as all hell, but what next is pretty much the finishing blow. _

Dimitri brings up one of his front paws to Claude's stomach. He almost can't believe his eyes when this giant fur beast begins kneading him ever gently. It's more than enough to get a rare genuine smile out of him. It even makes him avert his gaze for a moment because he's literally beaming from ear to ear. Perhaps it's the feelings that make him so awfully giddy. It's fucking unbearable and yet, Claude can't stop smiling. And if that wasn't enough already, the moment he directs his attention back to Dimitri, he can see his slanted pupil dilate to the point where the blue of his eyes is barely visible.  _ He's going to be the death of him. _

Neither of them say anything. Claude spends the moment trying his utmost not to smile despite the damage already having been done, while Dimitri gently performs the elaborate bread making ritual of a house cat on his tummy. 

"Claude?", comes a sudden trill of his name– he trills like a goddamn cat, too. 

He only hums in response. 

"How does… your kind express affection?" 

** _"Wow,_ ** quite the loaded question, Dima.", he gives a soft chuckle. Oh boy. He can almost tell where this one is going. The fluttering in his stomach is getting worse by the second.  _ He allows the situation to unfold. _ "Why the sudden interest?" 

"I  **like** you.", Dimitri says in a tone as soft as his gravelly voice allows,  _ "I like you  _ ** _a lot."_ **

Straight outta left field, without any warning. It's sudden, so sudden that Claude can feel the heat rise to his entire face. But somehow, his smile only grows wider.  _ Feels nice. _

"That so, huh…" His voice is shaking just a bit, heart hammering in his chest. The sky sure looks nice today, is all he can think as he casts his gaze upward, just anywhere where Dima is not.  _ He might burst.  _ He's somewhere up there on cloud nine or some romance bullshit like that. Barely made it out of his  _ 'ew, girls are icky' _ phase, only to find out that he likes boys and not just  _ any _ boys;  ** _this very specific kind of boy._ ** Well, there's certainly worse preferences out there. 

"I would like to express it in such a way so that… so that you interpret it properly." 

"It'd be boring if I just told you, don't you think?" Claude is putting his brain on speaker at this point, not pondering on the things he says like he usually would have. 

That way he earns himself a frustrated groan, followed by Dimitri shifting off of him. He almost suspects he managed to force him into leaving with his mannerisms, but he underestimates how persistent his furred friend is. Soon enough, he's faced with Dimitri's beet-red visage, hovering above his own. And the only thing Claude can do is give him that dopey grin that still sits on his expression, seemingly unwilling to leave.  _ It's a permanent guest anyway.  _

"You're unfair.", Dimitri tells him. In addition, he receives a little scoff, hot breath fanning across his face.

"Playing by the rules has never been my forte.", Claude almost sneers at him, letting him struggle longer. 

There's a twitch of the being's brow at that, ears lowering. He eyes him for a moment but then carefully leans in. As clueless as Dimitri may seem, he apparently has the right idea of how humans show their affection in a more romantic context. It's no more than a feather light touch when his lips brush over Claude's cheek. _He could just _**_melt._** _He really is about to lose it right then and there._ Dimitri holds the contact for a moment before he moves to pull away again, but Claude stops him in his tracks by running his fingers through the short hair at his nape. 

_ "At least do it like you mean it." _

And with that, he pulls Dimitri back into his embrace, capturing him in a kiss that's likely the softest and most chaste thing he had the pleasure of experiencing in his life until this point. Right away, Dimitri's hands are brought up to frame his face, locking him in place. Their kiss isn't just a single long one, but lots of little pecks instead. Loud purring wells up in the depths of the other's chest, causing Claude to give a little hum in reply, almost a little like he's trying to imitate the sound. 

They last another moment before Dimitri breaks their kiss to withdraw, licking his lips as he gently brushes a few stray locks of hair out of Claude's face. 

"I think I… I already like you more now." The being says it with such adoration in both his voice and expression that it makes Claude's heart ache. 

"It wasn't too bad for my first time kissin' then, I assume?" He literally  _ giggles, _ a sound that's completely undignified even for his tastes, but he can't find a fuck to give right now. 

_ "Kiss.", _ Dimitri repeats absent-mindedly, seemingly attempting to taste each letter individually on his tongue. "Can we 'kiss' again? Or would it be…  ** _scandalous_ ** of me to ask something such as that?" 

"It's not a once in a lifetime thing for us, y'know." A soft sigh and a pause follow as Claude stretches in his spot, every single muscle fiber having been replaced by still lukewarm pudding. Wow, some sucking face can truly work wonders as it seems. "You can do it as often as you want." 

Likely feeling a bit  _ 'scandalous', _ Dimitri leans in another time to press a firm peck to his lips, but it doesn't last long. It seems that he has some issues with some butterflies on his own. Once he pulls away from Claude, the beast gives one of his breathy moans as he lets himself fall backwards into the grass with the dramaturgy of a practiced opera diva, all four paws and both arms raised into the air. 

_ "I like you.", _ Dimitri repeats his confession once more but audibly choked up this time around.  _ He means it. _ It doesn't get more genuine than this. 

"I like you, too.", Claude responds in kind, his face burning up in the most lovely shade of red. 

_ He feels awful. _

______

  
  


The time of his departure comes faster than expected. 

The thick leather of his clunky coffer is hard and cold against Claude's back as he lies on it, staring at the ceiling in tear-filled silence. He's got all the necessities packed, with the carriage meant for him arriving in three hours or so. _ It feels weird to cry over this. _ It has already been a few days since he got over himself and talked to Dimitri about this whole thing– needless to say,  _ he didn't take it well. _

Proof of that is the bite hidden under his sleeve. It didn't bleed aside from a few drops, but there was enough pressure for it to leave a mark. The three rows of teeth make for an impressive bruise. It still hurts a little, but the emotional whinge clearly outweighs the physical ache in this case. 

He ain't gonna lie, he deserved that one. 

So far he was able to pass off his love problems as anxiety over leaving home– there's an involuntary shudder running down his back when he calls this place 'home'– but he knows there's  _ someone _ he won't be able to fool so easily. 

"Ugh,  ** _Claude–",_ ** Hilda scoffs but he cuts her off right there. 

_ "What do you want me to say? _ I told you I just don't feel too hot right now." He can see the judging look he's getting at the edge of his vision. 

They'll be taking the same carriage to the monastery because the last thing he needs is going on an unnecessarily long carriage trip on his own– especially now that he's horribly depressed. The two arranged this long before the…  ** _incident,_ ** but now he's even more glad that he won't be alone. 

Hilda showed herself from her best side today and helped him packing the  _ very _ moment she noticed that there's something mighty off today. Now that they're done, they have the next few hours to lounge about. She had claimed his bed as hers for the time being, resting on her stomach with her judgemental expression just barely peeking over the edge of the bed. Claude had made it very clear that he doesn't want a hug right now, so all she really can do is watch him as he despairs in silence.

"You sure you don't wanna talk?", she presses on again.

_ "I'm fine."  _ Cue his voice breaking right at those exact words.  _ How telling. _

"Yeah, I can see that."

_ Something tears within him. _ He can't tell if it's her usual tone grating on his nerves or the fact that she keeps pushing him even though he told her that he just wants some company. No pseudo-therapeutic conversation or body contact involved. Just co-existing in the same room together. Seems like she didn't quite get that– but he doesn't say a word, unable to bring himself to actually snap at Hilda. Claude simply gets off his luggage and moves to leave the room, completely unceremoniously. 

"Hey, where are you–" 

"I need some fresh air.", he tells her as he leaves. 

The bed creaks behind him. 

**"Alone.",** he adds, something just mildly threatening in his tone.

Hilda doesn't follow.

______

  
  


Claude really can't bring himself to make an effort and get past the guards in style this time and simply climbs over the high garden fence even if the noble brood at court sneers at him for it. He couldn't give less of a shit about anything else– he just wants to see Dima a last time before leaving. Of course, once he's graduates they  _ could _ meet again…  _ but who's to say that they  _ ** _will,_ ** _ though? _

An awful suspicion that Dimitri left their usual spot has him by the scruff of his neck as he makes it across the vast field by the Riegan estate. However, the all too familiar groaning cause those worries to dissipate as quick as they manifested. Claude comes to halt by a tree, taking a moment to listen to the downright gut-wrenching noises. It sounds like crying.

A few ways ahead, right by their usual clearing, lies the miserable pile that's left of Dimitri, resting on his side with even his upper half touching the ground. Usually he only does that when he sleeps. Not a good sign. With great care placed in his every move, Claude circles around him while there's still some distance between them, so that his friend may see him approach– and get out of the situation, if he feels cornered. But even when he's close enough to see Dimitri's bloodshot gaze,  _ the being doesn't budge. _

He's just looking at him, ears pressed close to the sides of his head. Much to his disdain, Claude can feel new tears well up on his eyes to which he earns himself another soft groan from his beastly friend, his brows furrowing at his miserable condition. He looks like total shit, he knows it. 

Wordlessly, he inches closer to Dimitri, still giving him the chance to take the easy way out and just run for the hills–  _ but he stays put. _ Maybe not all is lost. Soft sniffling eventually plagues him as he lays down at his friend's side, draping himself over the other's furred lower body and pushing his ear up against his ribs. 

Dimitri has a slow heartbeat, Claude found, and there's few things that comfort him in the same manner. 

He's still crying but just hearing the gentle thumping of the being's pulse soothes him with every additional breath the other takes. He sniffles once again, absent-mindedly running his hand through the dense fur.  _ It's longer and rather fluffy on his belly. _ He even has speckles in his coat along the sides of his body, almost a bit like a lion cub, but even though that's one of his personal favourites out of the many, many things he noticed about Dimitri, reminding himself of it doesn't really improve his mood any further. If anything, he only ends up thinking of not being able to count the dots in his fur anymore once he's gone.

The silence between them is deafening.

"I don't want you to leave.", Dimitri says, unable to stop himself from purring any longer. 

"I should've said something sooner.", Claude responds, new tears wetting the other's thick pelt. He fucked things up by not saying anything. Perhaps they could've arranged something or come to some sort of agreement if he actually had gotten over himself in time. "I'll– I'll be off in a few hours."

Dimitri gives a pitiful sound at that and it's hard to sort it into the arrangement of weird noises he's prone to make. It just sounds like he's genuinely suffering. There's no other way to describe it. 

All Claude can do is run his fingers through the other's dense coat, shushing him softly. "I'm not dead for good, y'know." He certainly feels like he's going to die though. 

"But I can't see you anymore.", Dimitri retorts with a weakened whine and there's utter desperation in his voice,  _ "You might as well be." _

He's never been one to cry so easy, but the other just managed to open the floodgates all the way. There's more tears and Claude actually has to move his head into a different spot because the wet fur started sticking to his face. A loud sob eventually forces its way to freedom, shaking Claude's entire frame. He hasn't slept, and his mood has been insufferable for the past days. Perhaps he's just unloading all of it onto Dimitri while he still can. 

"I'm sorry.", he manages to bring forth, his babbling causing his friend to shift in his spot so that he may face him. 

In a gradual motion, as if he has to work up the courage to act first, Dimitri runs his clawed fingers through Claude's hair. It's silent for now, but it's not hard to tell that the being has words burning atop his tongue.  _ Oh, just what could he want to say? _ He has a creeping suspicion; the moment would be perfect, but at the same time it would also be his complete undoing.  _ He'd lose it. _ But while the calm before the storm lasts, Claude simply savors the affection he's getting. 

But Dimitri says nothing. 

Instead, he can feel the being's body shift beneath him another time, takes it as a cue to sit up. By the goddess, he's dizzy, his head swimming from the crying he's been doing for… what, how long? Two hours by now?  _ Possibly. _

Dimitri is nowhere near as snotty and gross as he is, Claude notes in surprise. Then again, he's very good at hiding his anguish. Overall, he's hard to read at his best, downright devoid of expression at his worst, and it's not just because Dimitri prefers to keep his troubles to himself– in the end, he  ** _isn't_ ** human and doesn't emote quite like his  _ human _ friend does. 

But even with their vast differences, Claude can easily see pain written across his face– he has a devastating puppy look. 

More tears are driven into his eyes as his mind inevitably wanders. Garreg Mach Monastery is far away from Riegan territory. They really won't be able to see each other, not for a long time. A horrid ache sits deep within his chest, his throat constricting as if his own body is trying to suffocate him. 

Another soft noise of discontent from Dimitri. Ever careful, he leans in and bumps his cheek against Claude's, a coarse purr humming in his throat. 

_ That's what really does him in. _ A second sobs breaks out of him at the gentle contact, his arms curling around Dimitri– to which the being gives one of his huffy signature groans.  _ Oh, how he's going to miss all those weird noises.  _ As much as it hurts, he savors their hug, albeit it's a bit one-sided since Dimitri still doesn't know where to put his arms and is downright afraid of making Claude uncomfortable.  _ Cue another bout of fresh tears.  _ He's way too emotional to be thinking about those unintentionally cute things Dima does, he decides, lest he ends up turning tail on going to the academy. 

Reluctantly, Claude is the one who ends up pulling away, an arm brought up to wipe his face on his sleeve. There's no saying how disgusting he feels right now, but he'll bear that burden. Dimitri appears deep in thought when he looks at him once more, brows furrowed and an ever subtle frown curling his mouth. He's gonna miss the cute cleft lip, too. 

"Say what's on your mind.", Claude tells him, his voice cracking from bawling his eyes out. 

Furred ears lower at that, Dimitri averting his gaze for a split moment. He's visibly nervous, wings fluttering and tail curling around his feline body. However, he seems to realize that this may be the last opportunity he gets. 

"I– It is… a horribly selfish thing to ask of you, but– I want you to do me this one favor."

"Spill it.", Claude attempts to reassure, taking Dimitri's clawed hands into his own and enjoying how soft the paw pads feel against his skin, "I don't mind."

A pause. Another look to the side. 

"I-I… I want you to bite me.", he chokes forth, a dark hue of red making its way on his features, "Hard enough for a scar."

You can bet your ass he would've cracked a dirty joke at that…  _ if only he was in a better mood. _ However, considering the circumstances, he prefers to take what was said as it is. The last thing he needs right now is Dimitri getting flustered to the point where he'll exclusively speak in grunts (which has happened a few times in the past). 

"I'm aware what this probably sounds like to you, but– it is important to… to me." He pauses once more, his gravelly voice seemingly making it hard for him to sound genuine and tender.  ** _"You–_ ** are important to me."

This is about as smooth as it gets for a being that has lived in the mountains for a majority of his life. He tries so hard. Claude doesn't mind that Dimitri didn't elaborate on the specifics, although he remembers a vague mention of it in passing during a little heart-to-heart. In case his memory isn't fooling him, the basic gist is as follows: when two big murder kitties love one another very much, they form a bond. Said bond requires a mark for one of the love-birds to bear. It can be anything, really, but according to Dimitri a bite scar is the generally accepted,  _ albeit old-fashioned, _ way of doing it. Needless to say,  _ it's an incredibly intimate gesture. _

"You got no business charming me like that.", he huffs, an ever subtle grin pulling at one corner of his mouth,  _ "Not when I can't take you with me." _

Claude leaves no room for a response, brings their lips together in a firm kiss. A soft grunt from Dimitri can be heard as his broad front paw presses into his side, pulling him just a bit closer. They break their embrace rather quick, the being's face buried in Claude's shoulder with loud purring ringing in his ears– something is a bit off, though. _ It sounds different.  _ There's a minor shift down in pitch, a whine as undertone.  _ Huh, weird. _

"Mark my neck.  _ Please." _ Dimitri's voice is no more than a rough whisper as he speaks, his body curling against Claude. "I want to think of you every time I see my reflection."

A breath hitches in his throat, a similar tone of red spreading across the entirety of his face, reaching even his ears. Whereas Dimitri felt scandalous over something as innocent as a peck or two, it is now Claude's turn to feel a little embarrassed about an act of most innocent nature–  _ kitty people are weird.  _ The being is close to him, bare chest pressed against him and his face hidden in the crook of his neck. Claude gives a soft sigh through his nose as he decides to take a small detour, trailing soft pecks along the side of Dimitri's neck. At the same time, both of his hands are drug up the sides of the being's torso, nails raking over thick skin. 

Claude earns himself a breathy huff this way and is soon rewarded with the sensation of wet sandpaper against his neck. The goosebumps from it are near instant.

"You're not going to bite me back, are you?", he asks softly, half joking.

"I would  **kill** you." Dimitri's voice has grown into a throaty growl. "If I did it there."

Claude can feel the slightest hint of teeth against his skin.  _ He's holding himself back. _

He knows that his furred buddy here isn't really an individual graced with a saint's patience, so he reminds himself to get it over with– even if he wants to make it last. A few more kisses are pressed to the rather impressive muscle in the bend of his shoulder. Is he even going to be able to put a dent into that bad boy with his puny human teeth?  _ Well, he's about to find out. _

There's some hesitation at first, but it dissipates quickly when he hears Dimitri give another huff, seemingly urging him to get it over with. A last kiss follows before Claude digs his teeth into the being's shoulder and soon finds that it's not that hard to break the skin. He can taste a first prick of copper. His jaw clenches further, brows furrowing at the taste of blood. Dimitri has grown still in their embrace, frozen stiff in place. He can feel him tremble, though. Finding himself spurred on by that, Claude bites down harder, even if his jaw bone feels like it's about to snap in two. He's not prepared for the groan he gets out of the other like that, his body buckling against Claude's and even shoving him backwards.

He's able to hold the bite for another few moments before the blood forces him to pull away, quickly spitting the disgusting mixture in his mouth to the side. His arm is raised to wipe his bloodied chin and mouth, but his beastly friend is a bit faster than him.

A deep purr follows as Dimitri drags his rough tongue over his lips. The sensation leaves him feeling tingly all over and it's almost like he aches for more when the other pulls away after having gotten rid of his blood on his face. With the wet flap of sandpaper out of the picture, Claude can't stop himself from capturing Dimitri in a tender kiss, a few leftover tears making their way down his face. Again reminded of the fact that this is goodbye for a long time, he can't help but sob into their embrace. 

He breaks their kiss once more, forced to wipe his face after a sudden influx of fresh tears. He's pretty sure he cried as much as he did in his entire life in a single goddamn day. "I already miss you." 

"We'll meet again. I promise.", Dimitri says with confidence, one of his front paws carefully settling on Claude's hand that been resting in his lap.

_ "Heh, a… a  _ ** _pawmise?",_ ** he chuckles and smiles through tears, his chest constricting into another involuntary sob.

It's clear that the being is having a hard time keeping in a bout of laughter. If there's one human thing he loves, it's anti-jokes and puns. He's not human and it's clear in everything he does, but his laugh is still one of the cutest sounds Claude had the pleasure of hearing– it's a strong contender for his purr. And his chirps. And the little groans.  _ And pretty much every noise he makes. _

"You could say that.", Dimitri eventually manages to say, "I  _ pawmise _ I will return to you when the time comes."

He grips the enormous paw in his lap tightly in both hands at that. Claude doesn't ask about the wheres and hows or any other trivial questions. He knows all there is to know– all he needs to know.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! stay tuned for the timeskip chapter :3cc


End file.
